Staying true to my hobbies, I made a short video discussing the pros and cons of a digital product I use all the time. Below, you can find a tidied-up transcript.
Hello, my name is Hannah and I am discussing D&D Beyond. This is a digital product designed to help players of Dungeons and Dragons keep track of their characters and everything that goes along with playing this table-top game.
Before this product was released, people used massive folders filled with handwritten notes to keep track of their characters skills, abilities and spells.
As a player, you have to respond quickly to situations to keep the flow of the game smooth, so I love that the main information is locked so it is always visible.
This is the variable area that contains the things you will only need at a specific time in the game. But I find by having the information boxed like this, it is very easy during a game to forget important information hidden at the bottom of a window.
There is also no opportunity to personalise your character view despite personalisation being a key factor with the handmade binders. But, I understand they were trying to preserve the look and feel of the classic starter pdf’s which is a very wholesome detail.
D&D is played with dice to determine outcomes. This product has a wonderful detail where you can roll digital dice.
In terms of accessibility, I think this is great, as this product is free to use so beginners don’t have to buy dice, and it provides people with different abilities the opportunity to still play.
I love this product because it means I can still play the game I love, without needing to spend hours creating a folder of information.
Image Credit: Creative commons DnD 5e logo
References
WIZARDS. 2023. ‘D&D Beyond’. D&D Beyond [online]. Available at: https://www.dndbeyond.com [accessed 1 Apr 2023].
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